JACQUELINE Leponis has been in the hair and beauty industry for nearly 30 years – that’s three decades of experience in looking after women and their hair.

Earlier this month, the 44-year-old from St Helens who has a salon in Burtonwood, picked up a national hairdressing award at a glittering ceremony in London.

Jacqueline’s salon Hair Loss on Old Alder Lane was nominated for a ‘phenomenal contribution to the community’ award sponsored by the Little Princess Trust and she won!

Jacqueline has been in the hair and beauty industry for nearly 30 years

Jacqueline has been in the hair and beauty industry for nearly 30 years

For 29 years, Jacqueline has been in the hair and beauty business starting out at Andrew Collinge in Liverpool when she left school, an experience she describes as “the best start to my career”.

She worked at other leading salons in Liverpool and Manchester and saw numerous clients who were suffering from hair loss.

Jacqueline said: “There are so many different reasons for hair loss in women.

“There are many factors that can contribute to hair loss such as diet, stress, medications, illness, certain medical conditions, age, menopause and also physiological disorders.

“I wanted to help these women.

“I made it my mission to find out why it was happening.”

The salon - Hair Loss - is a warm and friendly place for women to feel relaxed

The salon - Hair Loss - is a warm and friendly place for women to feel relaxed

Jacqueline specialises in extensions and has taught techniques to hairdressers all over the country.

She noticed than while some women were getting extensions to increase the length of their hair others wanted to increase the fullness and thickness of their hair.

She enrolled on a trichology degree course at The Institute of Trichology in London and has just completed her masters.

Jacqueline specialises in extensions for women who want to increase the length or thickness of their hair

Jacqueline specialises in extensions for women who want to increase the length or thickness of their hair

Jacqueline said: “Trichology is a subdivision of dermatology and is the scientific study of hair and the scalp.

“The salon – Hair Loss – offers an appointment only service for women who are suffering from hair loss or hair thinning.

“It’s a warm and friendly environment where women can relax and not feel self conscious about their hair loss.

“I wanted to normalise female hair loss and build women’s confidence.”

Jacqueline and her colleague Emma Finney travelled to London for the Salon Services Professional Hair and Beauty Awards on February 12 and was blown away to hear she’d won.

Jacqueline and Emma picked up the award in London

Jacqueline and Emma picked up the award in London

She said: “It was such a surreal experience.

“It took a couple of days for the news that we’d been nominated to sink in so I think we’re still in shock that we actually won.

“I went into hairdressing to make women feel good about themselves and then specialised in hair loss to build confidence and self esteem.

“I never did it for the recognition – seeing women smile after they’ve had an appointment is more than enough but winning the award is the cherry on the cake.

“I hope that winning the award will raise awareness of female hair loss and help women see that help is available.”

Hair Story is based at Cheshire Beauty & Wellbeing on Alder Lane in Burtonwood

Hair Story is based at Cheshire Beauty & Wellbeing on Alder Lane in Burtonwood